Formula 1 confirmed the official cancellation of the Azerbaijan, Singapore and Japan Grands-Prix in the 2020 calendar, in order to shorten this year’s season to 15 – 18 races. A statement released by the governing body attributed the cancellation to “long lead times required to construct street circuits” and “ongoing travel restrictions.”
BIC uniquely positioned for double header
The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) is uniquely positioned for a double header to cap off the 2020 season, with Formula One managing director, motor sports and technical director Ross Brawn, calling the Sakhir track’s oval configuration “quite exciting.”
F1 is wary of second races at the same venue being a repeat of the first without an extra variable thrown in. Bahrain has five circuits homologated to FIA Grade 1 standard and Ross appears to be intrigued by the “outer” configuration, which flicks left out of Turn 4 instead of diving down through the sweeps to the hairpin.
He said, in an in-house F1 interview: “One of the nice attractions of Bahrain is it has many configurations, so we could go to Bahrain and race on two different tracks there. There’s a nice sort of almost oval track that would be quite exciting, and all the layouts have a Grade 1 licence with the FIA, so that is an option in the pocket.”